Ladies and Mens Ski Gloves

Skiing Equipment

When you head out skiing, you need to dress appropriately. We’re not going to play a game of basketball where all you need is shorts, shoes, a ball and a hoop. It’s not quite that simple with skiing. Let’s face it, there is a lot of ski equipment that you need. Besides the boots, skis, jacket and pants, I think a very important piece of the puzzle is ski gloves.

Functions of Ski Gloves

If you think about it, ski gloves have a lot to do. They’re protecting a part of your body where you need blood to get to and your hands are considered an extremity. When blood gets all the way to your fingers, you need it to be cold and you also don’t want cold blood returning through your veins back through your body since that will cool you off faster. In order to avoid that, you need ski gloves that keep you warm.

Beyond keeping you warm, ski gloves must keep your hands dry. Cold hands will make you colder because that cold blood travels back through your body. You hands can also get cold if they sweat.

And ski gloves should not restrict movement. You will need to move your fingers in order to grab things, so gloves need to fit naturally and not be too tight either.

Ladies Ski Gloves vs. Mens Ski Gloves

There are a few, slight differences between ski gloves for men and women. First, the colors might be different, of course. There will be more colors for women’s ski gloves like pink or white. White ski gloves for women is a popular choice. A second difference will be the sizes. Womens ski gloves will be a little bit smaller, typically. Like other clothing, a medium in womens sizes will be smaller than a men’s size medium. But you’ll find women wearing mens ski gloves if they like them better or if they fit better, which is perfectly fine. Get ski gloves that will fit you the best.

Features of Ski Gloves

Here are some of the features that you’ll find on ski gloves today:

• Box cut fingers
• Finger and hand articulation

The more room you have inside the glove, the easier it is to add in more insulation (glove liners) and you’ll trap some air in the glove, which is also a good insulator.

• Waterproof outer fabrics
• Waterproof membrane inside

Again, keeping water away from your hands is ideal.

• Vents

Some gloves will have vents in them to help with air flow. If you have sweaty hands, then you will want to check out ski gloves with vents.

• Mittens

If you have colder hands, then try switching from gloves to mittens since your fingers being together will give you good warmth and blood flow.

• Soft-shell and woven fabrics

These give you a more flexible glove and yet are still waterproof. They are also more breathable but are still fine for cutting down on wind.

• Racing ski gloves

Racing gloves are used when you’re flying through the gates. They’re nicely padded and have a thinner palm made of leather, which can take abuse.

• Fleece gloves

Fleece gloves are probably more for when you’re not skiing although there are days when they work quite well. They’re more flexible for greater dexterity and keep your hands warm.

• Ski and snowboard gloves with wrist guards

Since a common thing with beginner snowboarders is to try to brace yourself with your wrists when you fall (not a good idea), you can get gloves with built-in wrist guards to help protect your wrists. They work fine for skiers as well. The guard itself can be either be internal or external. The internal glove wrist guard is more hidden. Either kind works well, so it’s up to your preference.

• Safety leashes

These are strings in loops that you can use to leash your gloves to your jacket so you don’t lose your gloves. I thought this was mainly for kids but you see adults using this feature all the time. It would come in especially handy if you do have kids and need to attend to them.

• Leather palms

A nice feature on racing gloves, many non-racing ski gloves will also feature a leather palm, which helps the gloves last longer and take more abuse.

• Goggle wipe

Some gloves have a small, sort of squeegee built in to help you wipe your goggles. Very handy.

• Nose wipe

No explanation needed. Just be sure to clean your gloves, ok?

• Hand warmer pocket

I like this feature a lot. There’s a small pocket on the top of the wrist where you can fit a hand warmer. The inside of the hand warmer, then is close to your skin, keeping your fingers warm and helping with blood circulation.

• Heated ski gloves

If you’re really a wimp (just kidding), then you can get battery operated gloves with heaters in them. They’re also popular for riding a snowmobile or ATV in the winter.

Glove Size

Make sure you find a ski glove that fits your hand well. Gloves that are too big will make it hard to hold or grasp things. Gloves that are too small will slightly cut off the blood circulation that you need to stay warm. You can also lose dexterity with ski gloves that are too small because it will bunch up when you bend your fingers.

Trying on Ski Gloves

Make sure it comes down, over your wrist. This will give you good protection from wind or snow that might come in. At the top of each finger, you want some wiggle room. About a thumb’s width is a good amount of space to have above each finger. When you close your fist, you’ll need that space.

What Are the Best Ski Gloves?

The best ski gloves are the ones that fit you the best and the ones you’re most comfortable with. As with pretty much everything else in life, you get what you pay for. So a ski glove that fits nice in the store may get wet, dry out and fit very differently because of the cheap materials used. They basically fit well to make the sale and then fizzled out. So get ski gloves made wth quality materials. I’ll, of course, suggest North Face ski gloves. I own a lot of ski gloves since you need dry gloves all the time, so ones like Spyder ski gloves and I think I had a pair of Columbia gloves, too

Some other ones I have are Kombi, which have Gore-Tex, a handwarmer pocket, leather palm and they go well past my wrist, which I love.

I also have 2 pairs of glove liners, which I most always wear inside my gloves. They’re also handy when you’re just walking around and don’t want to wear heavier gloves. Sometimes just a glove liner is enough. I have one pair of generic ones and one pair of Spyder glove liners.

Look for the features mentioned above. For me, I always want the hand warmer pocket.

Good luck with your search for ski gloves. Keep those hands warm to help your whole body stay warm when you’re out skiing and snowboarding!

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